Being in Hokkaido, you would ask why would anyone think of eating fried chicken, when you can have some of the freshest seafood in the world. Otaru in particular, has a famous Sushi sweet with over 25 shops. But, if you are in Otaru, you have to visit Wakadori Jidai Naruto Honten to find out why this fried chicken is so special.
I visited the Naruto Honten (main branch) to try what some consider Otaru’s treasure, as they have been part of the city’s community for a long time. They are known for serving a hanashinage chicken, which is a whole half of a perfectly cooked, golden-colored fried chicken.
We checked out of the Sapporo Grand hotel in the morning and all got on our car. Our plan was to drive to our ryokan in Niseko called Zaborin, which was a three and a half hour drive away. We planned to make stops at Otaru and Shatokan along the way to break up the trip and enjoy the coastal towns and key attractions along the shores of the Sea of Japan.
First up is Otaru which is a 30 minute drive northwest of Sapporo. It is a small port town famous for its beautifully preserved canal and the many old converted warehouses that are transformed into restaurants and shops. It is also known for its glasswork, music boxes, and sake distilleries.
Hokkaido is the northern island of Japan. We flew from Haneda airport near Tokyo to Asahikawa using the ANA foreigner air tickets which is available only if you purchase before arriving to Japan.
Traveling abroad with a family with four young children is not easy, but Japan is one of the safest countries with a wide variety of attractions and great food. This combination makes it a popular destination in my household. The only challenge is that a family of six is hard to accommodate by Japanese standards. We need to plan out accommodations and what to do and where to eat carefully as Japan tends to be cater to small groups. In fact most hotels accommodate groups up to 3-4 people unless you know what to look for and book as early as possible to secure the few rooms that can accommodate a large family.
In our previous trips we travelled through the Kanto to Kansai regions of Japan, so this time we really wanted to experience other parts of this beautiful country. Our selection narrowed down to whether we wanted to spend time in Hokkaido or Kyushu and the choice was further easier to make given that we will be taking the kids during their summer break, which meant hot and humid weather in the Honshu and Kyushu islands. Thus, the vacation was focused on Hokkaido to avoid the muggy, hot heat the rest of Japan faces during the late June and early July months. In fact, during our stay, the weather for the most part was great in Hokkaido, outside of rain for a day or two during the first two days. We even needed jackets a couple of times in the mountain areas, but otherwise experienced very enjoyable weather. Continue reading “Tabemono Vacation – June/July 2016 Trip to Japan, Hokkaido and Tohoku Itinerary”
